Navy Vet Tackles, Stabs Alleged Gunman, Saves Clerk

On September 3 a Navy veteran tackled an alleged gunman in a Walgreens, stabbed him with a pocket knife, and held him down until police arrived.

The would-be gunman was allegedly threatening to shoot the Walgreens clerk if she did not hand over all her cash.

The incident occurred around 2 a.m. in Jacksonville, Florida.

According to NBC 12, Police say 27-year-old Carl Jerome Howell entered the Walgreens and allegedly ordered the clerk to “open the register and give me everything you got.” He allegedly told the clerk he had “a weapon and was going to kill her if she did not give him the money.”

When she did not move fast enough to suit him the alleged robber reached into pocket as if reaching for a gun. That is when 47-year-old Navy veteran Maurice Cooper tackled Howell. The men grappled with one another, then Cooper–fearing he would be shot–stabbed Howell in the back with his pocket knife.

He was then able to hold Howell down until police showed up.

Police discovered Howell didn’t have a gun “but a screwdriver and a glass pipe used for smoking crack.” He was charged with “armed robbery and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.”